“A terrific blend of fascinating conversation with varied, wonderfully-performed music”

The Music in my Life: Paul Gambaccini is interviewed by Sue Cook (Crimewatch, Nationwide, Children in Need)
Famous people talk about their lives, share their opinions, and discuss the music that has meant the most to them in their lives. Each one has had a prominent career and is happy to express some strong opinions!

Known as “The Great Gambo and “The Professor of Pop”, Gambaccini was a BBC Radio 1 presenter for 16 years, including 11 years on a weekly show counting down the Billboard Top 30 songs. A regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s long-running arts programme Kaleidoscope, he was a long-time TV morning show correspondent for British television, and makes regular appearances on other British TV magazine shows.

Gambaccini was the host of the 12-part Classic FM series Paul Gambaccini’s Hall of Heroes, and chairs the Radio 4 music quiz Counterpoint. He was presenter of Pick of the Pops on BBC Radio 2 from 2016 to 2023 and America’s Greatest Hits on Greatest Hits Radio on Saturday afternoons since February 2020. He now presents the Paul Gambaccini Collection on Radio 2. He was inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in 2005.

OSJ plays his chosen pieces live in the concert hall – often brand-new arrangements of an eclectic programme, to include excerpts from

MORNING from PEER GYNT SUITE Grieg
LARGO from XERXES Handel
SERENADE FOR STRINGS Tchaikovsky
NO – THE PROTECTING VEIL Tavener
TOM BOWLING Dibdin
STRING QUARTET No. 3 “MISHIMA” Glass
IMPROMPTU in A Flat, D 935/2 Schubert
IS MY TEAM PLOUGHING f/A SHROPSHIRE LAD Butterworth
BLUE DANUBE Strauss

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